2012 BAFTA Award Nominations Full List

BAFTA has announced its shortlist for the 2012 British Academy Video Games Awards and Batman: Arkham City and L.A. Noire lead the pack with eight nominations each.

Other blockbusters in line for prizes include Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and LittleBigPlanet 2, both with six nominations, while Portal 2 and Skyrim each have five award nods.

Brilliant Xbox Live Arcade game Bastion has two nominations – for Debut Game and Game Innovation – although no acknowledgement for its music or voice performance.

Fellow downloadable delight From Dust also claimed nods in the Innovation and Strategy categories.

Stephen Merchant is nominated for his portrayal of demented robot sidekick Wheatley in Portal 2, as is Luke “Mark Hamill” Skywalker for Batman: Arkham City’s Joker and Mad Men star Aaron Stanton for shouting at innocent witnesses in L.A. Noire.

Will Nolan North attend to claim the prizes for every game? Will Brendan McNamara give a funny acceptance speech? Can anything stop Skyrim from winning the public vote?

BAFTA will roll out the red carpet and announce this year’s winners on Friday 16th March.